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Tennis Resolutions for 2019

2018 has come and gone. And as always, it’s time to reflect on the year, read through your friends’ “year in review” social media feed and think about what New Year’s Resolutions you can set (then break) for 2019.

Let’s make our tennis resolutions different.

For tennis fans in 2018, there was plenty to read, plenty to watch and, most importantly, plenty to play.

On the national stage, pro tennis kept the audience on its toes. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic (twice) led the way with men’s majors, while the women’s game gave us stars like Kerber, Halep and Wozniaki, along with the emergence of Naomi Osaka.

To those local to the Middle States Section, 2018 was a standout year. Middle States had intersectional champions and had strong showings at USTA National Championships. You can read about all of it, and see results from throughout the year, by scrolling through our Instagram and Facebook feeds. .

More than ever, players picked up – and enjoyed – tennis. Kids of all ages learned the game, and adults of all ages continued playing.

From now on, It’s all about 2019. So with that in mind, here are a few tennis resolutions for 2019 that apply to players of all levels.

It’ll be a great year to play. See you on the court. And hey, don’t break these!

New Year’s Tennis Resolutions

1. Find more (creative) time to play. We know, it can be hard. Between work, school, family, friends and the thousand other responsibilities on everyone’s list each day, it can be tricky to rationalize two hours of court time every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Instead of that, try focusing on finding more creative times to play. That might mean playing early in the morning before work, or hitting balls over your lunch break with a co-worker. Maybe it means finding time to play while on vacation or when away for business.

After all, your racquet isn’t that big…you might as well take it everywhere you go, right?

2. Make it a family (or friend) sport. Sacrificing quality family time can be difficult. So why not combine it with tennis?

Take a friend or family member out to the court and hit a ball around. Even if they’ve never played before, it’s worth it. If you have young kids, you won’t believe how much fun they’ll have with everything they’ll learn through Net Generation.

Everyone is used to sitting inside these days. We’re constantly texting or emailing instead of interacting and socializing in person. An hour of tennis is the perfect way to get your family out, active and interacting.

3. Use it to reconnect. Remember your old roommate, or your high school/college buddy you lost touch with? You probably mean to call or hang out, but what will you even do? Dinner is expensive and requires non-stop conversation. You meet for drinks all the time. So when in doubt, go with tennis.

Tennis can be the perfect way to reconnect with an old friend or family member. It’s scheduled, active time that brings people together and builds a sense of camaraderie and friendship.

4. Introduce it to a new player.You probably have a friend who would love tennis, but just hasn’t picked it up yet. As you know, that’s crazy!

Someone did it for you, so return the favor. Try introducing a new player to the sport. Give them one of your old racquets or bags and offer to help them play. People pick the sport up a little faster than you might think, and you’ll feel great about helping someone learn the sport. They may even evolve into a great hitting partner or teammate down the road.

And when that happens, let us know! Email NetPLAY@ms.usta.com to tell us how you’re doing.

5. Improve your own game. 2019 can be about you, too. Pick something in your game that you struggle with or try to avoid. It could hitting your backhand on the run, or that frying pan second serve that always seems to result in a down-the-line winner whizzing past you.

Whatever it is, find that struggle and fix it.

The best approach could be finding a few extra minutes to work on it during your practice sessions or matches. If it’s your backhand, ask a friend to hit balls solely to your backhand for 10 minutes straight. If it’s that serve, get out there on the court (you don’t even need an opponent) and hit for 20 extra minutes per week. You won’t believe what a little bit of extra attention will do to your game, and the results of your matches.

6. Have fun. This is the most important one.

Tennis can be competitive, and competition can cause stress. Instead of worrying about that point you lost or the double-fault that lost you the final set, focus on the fun of tennis.

You’re on the court playing the game you love. You’re moving around, being active and playing a game, and that’s a privilege. Enjoy it, find happiness in the successes, and pass it on.